The President said the EU would have supported US sanctions against Iran if he was insistent.
But he said he has “allowed” Germany and France to keep making money because the US does not need help to put pressure on Tehran.
Speaking to Fox News about his relationship with the EU he said: “They’re great friends of mine. They really are. I get along with all of them, whether it’s Emmanuel Macron or whether it’s Angela Merkel… I really like those people.”
But when asked about Europe’s reluctance to back his Iranian sanctions he claimed it was for economic reasons.
He added: “I told the EU: ‘Just keep making money. Don’t worry about it. We don’t need you on this.’
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“When Iran buys things from Germany and from France it allows them to earn billions of dollars.
“When the Iranians buy those things, it’s a little harder for those countries to do something.
“Would the EU do it if I really was insistent? I believe they would.”
His comments come amid tensions between Iran and the US.
In mid-October, Trump said he would not certify that Iran was complying with the landmark nuclear deal it reached in 2015.
The deal was between the Barack Obama administration and five other world powers, Russia, France, Germany, China and the UK.
Trump said the US congress has 60 days to decide if the US should reinstate sanctions against Tehran and warned that the treaty may be terminated if “we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies.”
Other restrictions include banning the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The US policy on Iran was praised by Saudi Arabia and Israel but received condemnation from the other signatories to the nuclear accord, including those in Europe.
Federica Mogherini blasted the US President over his isolationist approach and accused him of pursuing a global policy of “fear, protectionism and confrontation”.
The Italian eurocrat, who did not directly name Mr Trump during her tirade, instead advocated a new “European way” of conducting international affairs that takes a more open approach.
Her remarks demonstrate once more the dire state of relations between Brussels and Washington, which have become increasingly strained by the US President’s actions on the world stage.
The Republican has already promised to withdraw his country from the Paris climate change accord in a huge snub to European leaders and officials who spent years brokering the deal with his predecessor Barack Obama.
And EU officials have not forgotten some of the highly critical comments Mr Trump made about the bloc in the early days of his presidency, including an incendiary call for other members to follow Britain out the exit door.